Never Shall We Die
by conventgirlvampire
Summary: The sea has always been in their blood and in their hearts. When Sue turns over her ship to Brittany, Puck and Rachel it suddenly becomes more dangerous than it was before. Will it turn on them or will they finally master its mysteries?


**Title:** Never Shall We Die

**Chapter:** 1

**Characters/Pairings:** Faberry, Brittana, Spuck (Sam/Puck), Sue Sylvester, Schuester, New Directions, a lot of other people.

**Word Count:** 3,231

**Spoilers:** None; AU

**Summary:** The sea has always been in their blood and in their hearts. When Sue turns over her ship to Brittany, Puck and Rachel it suddenly becomes more dangerous than it was before. Will it turn on them or will they finally master its mysteries?

**A/N:**I won't lie. This was because I just want Rachel to be a pirate. Also, taking submissions for Puckerman's pirate name. Read and review.

**A/N2:** For those interested, I'm putting up my posting schedule on tumblr (intheforestofthenight) so go check it if you want to know about my other stuff as well.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it. Never did. Um…I don't know if this counts but the title is part of the song _Hoist the Colours_ off of the _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End_ OST.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Darkness pressed in all around her as the water pulled her in lower and deeper into it. She struggled to swim against it but the current was always stronger. She could not escape, no matter how much she wanted to._

Rachel sat up so quickly in bed that she hit her head on the edge of the bunk above her. Cursing softly, she rubbed at the spot until the pain receded before she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and got up. She needed to get out of the cabin she shared with four other crew members and up on deck for some fresh air.

She made her way up the stairs, careful not to make any noise lest she wake her fellow crew members. It was her turn on watch anyway but she did not think it best to raise the ire of four young, volatile women by waking them before sunrise.

"Brittany!" she called as she climbed the rigging to get to the crow's nest where a tall blonde on lookout resided. "My watch's about to begin. Why don't you go get some sleep before the captain wakes up?"

"It's not really a problem Rachie," the blonde replied with a smile too bright for the early morning. "I don't mind staying up her with you. Besides, Sue doesn't really need me."

Rachel studied the girl for a moment. She had been on the _Cheerio Shark_ all her life and never had she met anyone quite as happy and bubbly as Brittany. Both girls had grown up together on the ship but the blonde was the one who seemed not to be affected by the harshness of their life and seemed to take everything in stride.

Currently she was sporting a happy but tired grin, most likely a result of seeing someone finally awake. Rachel never understood why Brittany would take shifts on the night watch when the ship was manned by a skeletal crew because of that very reason. She enjoyed being with other people too much for the loneliness of the night. She had even tried to talk her out of it once but she had failed.

"Britt Britt," she started, finally noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the distinct slump to her shoulders, "did you spend the entire night up here?"

"Maybe," came the blonde's response as she moved aside to let Rachel join her, "I don't really know how long I was here. Skye was here before me, though."

"May I ask why you spent the night and part of yesterday on watch when you know that you were supposed to stay here for your watch only?"

Brittany hung her head in response and Rachel knew, she just knew, that Brittany still blamed herself for what happened five months ago. God knows she still blamed herself. Embracing the taller girl she tried to console her but not for long.

"Corcoran! Pierce! Get down here immediately!"

They sprung apart at the sound of their captain's voice and scrambled to the rigging to get down to the deck as quickly as possible. Both knew that the woman was not to be denied on pain of death. They had once seen her kill someone just because they have given her fish when she wanted meat for her supper.

Rachel swung around one of the lines at the last minute, grimacing as she twisted her arm on the way. It had not yet healed from a recent knife injury but she did not really care at the moment. She had been in worse condition before so it did not affect her all that much.

She came to a stop in front of a tall woman with short blonde hair and a battered British military jacket over her white shirt and black pants. Snapping a quick salute, she prepared herself for whatever was about to come.

"Why the hell are my Quartermaster and Navigator on the watch roster? I know you're not stupid enough to feel guilty for what happened five months ago, right? After all, Sue Sylvester's lieutenants do not feel emotions like remorse for those kinds of incidents.

"Captain…" Rachel began but Sue held up a hand.

"Don't. I took you off of the roster and replaced you with Adams and Taylor. You can thank me later. Now Corcoran, how are we for time?"

"We're still about two months from the Louisiana coast." Reaching into her own jacket she pulled out a small leather-bound notebook and leafed through it. "If my calculations are correct, and, let's face it, they're flawless, unless we get caught in a dead zone while we're there, we can leave right after we're finished with our business."

"Good. I'm placing you and Brittany in charge of getting the girls back up to Sylvester standard today. When we get to port you'll be responsible for the business I have with Puckerman's friend, Chang. Rachel, you're also to update our star charts at the same time."

"What about the nautical charts and the maps?"

"Leave that for when we get to Tortuga. You will be handling the recruiting as well, do you understand?"

"Us?" Brittany actually sounded happy about this. "You're letting us pick the crew?"

"You're no longer sloppy babies. You've been elevated by one Captain Sue Sylvester –"

"– also known as the Red Mistress of the Oceans –" the girls intoned.

"– to loyal minions. You are allowed five seconds of self-praise."

Sue suddenly stopped speaking, her eyes moving to gaze at something in the distance that had caught her attention. Following her captain's gaze Rachel frowned at the empty horizon. Then she saw it, a barely there sparkle like light hitting and reflecting off of the window of a ship. Immediately her mind started to calculate speeds, times, distances and everything else she needed to know before it could be investigated. Her companions picked up on it as soon as she started thinking.

"Rach?"

"Corcoran?"

"We won't see sails until tomorrow morning." She did not look at them, her eyes darting around as she scanned the skies for changes in the weather patterns. "We're getting wind now but soon it'll be a dead zone for hours on end. Even then, it'll still take a day to get within boarding range after sighting them, granted we turn the ship now.

"And how long until we reach Tortuga if we ignore the cargo for now?"

"Five weeks."

"Pierce, turn the ship."

* * *

Rachel let out a soft hiss as her back hit the door of Brittany's cabin, the girl in question raking her nails across her stomach. The blonde slipped her tongue between her parted lips and she groaned at the feeling of the welcome invasion. They remained like that for a while, kissing languidly until Rachel pulled away.

"Britt…"

Brittany smiled softly before letting go of her waist and twirling away towards the desk beneath the window on the far wall. She shuffled through some papers, her smile disappearing into a frown.

Rachel sighed, wondering what had gotten into her friend. Ina matter of minutes she had gone from horny to playful to serious. The abrupt change in emotions was nothing new but had been happening a lot more recently. That alone was usually enough to worry her but the guilt that ate away at both of them fuelled her concerns.

"What's on your mind Britt?"

"Sue told me she's leaving soon."

"I know." She walked up to Brittany and held her close. "I'm going to miss her too."

Brittany shook her head. "It's not that. I mean, I'll miss her too but she'll probably just go into something else. I just…I don't know what's going to happen."

Rachel nodded in agreement. She knew exactly how Brittany felt. She would never admit it out loud but Sue was like the mother she never had and the prospect of sailing without the woman scared her more than anything else at the moment. They had sailed together for so long that it was hard to imagine a time when she would no longer pass the day hearing near impossible orders that were to be carried out in too little time.

Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts she peered over Brittany's shoulder at the inventory records she had been searching through before. They needed to get rid of their cargo before going to Tortuga but Sue had insisted that they change course in exchange for raiding the ship they had sighted.

She had a bad feeling about this raid, as if their lives were about to change. It would not necessarily get worse but it was about to get harder. There was just something about it that did not sit right with her.

"Don't," Brittany whispered almost if she had sensed her thoughts. "Rach, don't over think things. Whatever happens tomorrow night isn't worth worrying about. All that matters is that Graceling Pierce and Siren Killer Corcoran get out of it alive and make our captain crazy happy. I don't want her to hurt the dolphins again."

Rachel chuckled when she heard their pirate names fall from Brittany's lips. The girl was right, of course. As long as they survived and made Sue happy then nothing else was worth worrying over. It was just all in her head.

"Yes, of course. I'm just being stupid, I guess."

"No," Brittany said with a slight smile, "you're just being you."

* * *

The night watch was usually the sharpest due to Sue's incessant need for everything to be accounted for and her insistence that it was always easier for something to go wrong in the dark. Too many times had Rachel pointed out that the crew were all too bloody afraid of her to actually do anything only to have Sue tell her that she was an idiot and then take away her command for a week.

She shuddered at the memory of the things Sue had made her do as she stood close to the wheel with Brittany. They had been banned from joining the watch but, with the prospect of spotting a ship they might be able to raid, Sue had given them leave to take over the night command.

Currently it was just a waiting game. With the ship moving on course with the currents for once and the sails trimmed down to barely a third of their full length there really was no other choice for them but to wait. That, of course, only served to make Brittany more restless than she already was.

"Britt," she sighed out amaze at the blonde's ever present energy. "Britt, you're gonna make me sick just watching you."

"Sorry," the other girl replied as she came to a stop in front of the wheel, "I just can't help it. We haven't raided a ship in a long time, you know?"

Rachel did know, they both did and the guilt of it ate away at them to the point that she just could not stop thinking about it. Then again, as their captain had reprimanded them earlier, they needed to move on.

"Who do you think will get to lead this one?"

"You," she said, noticing the teasing glint in Brittany's eye. "You're the Quartermaster Brittany. It's your job."

"Yup but what if I didn't want to?"

"Er…" she stalled, honestly not knowing the answer to Brittany's question. In all the time she had been on the ship there had never been a raid where the Quartermaster was not involved so the question stumped her.

"I'm kidding," Brittany laughed. "Of course I'm going to lead, especially since Sue says she doesn't want to get her hands involved with filthy mouth breathers when she has minions who can do it for her."

Rachel laughed out loud at that. Most people who met Brittany always thought of her as a fool but she knew better. The girl had an amazing memory and the ability to think clearly in any situation. While it was true that her general education was a bit lacking, there was a hidden intelligence and a dark humour that few knew about within the young pirate's mind.

It was also the bane of her existence because, more often than not, she tended to be the victim of Brittany's more sadistic side. Shuffling away from her this was what she was now trying to avoid.

"Rach, what are you doing?"

"I…uh…I need to make sure we're on course."

A blonde eyebrow rose slightly. "You just did that silly. Now come back here."

Before she could move or respond, strong arms were wrapping themselves around her waist and pulling her towards her friend. The first kiss was soft, the second not so much. Hands moved down to the backs of her thighs pulling her even closer as her fingers tangled themselves in straw coloured locks and she moaned into the taller girl's mouth.

They remained like that for several more minutes until a shrill whistle forced them apart. Turning around Rachel glared at the boy who had interrupted them. He smiled lecherously in response.

"Pucky!"

"Hey B!" he grinned, that smirk still not leaving his face. "Long time no see."

"Yeah. Sue said we weren't allowed to visit you because you and Rachel always seem to damage the cage and she doesn't want to have to replace it at the next port."

"It was one time Brittany!" Rachel exclaimed. "We weren't planning on actually blowing it up."

Brittany threw her a scathing look as if to say that she did not believe her. Rachel would never have lied to her on purpose but she had been hoping to withhold the tales of her tricks until a time when she did not run the risk of an angry blonde trying to put her in the brig or drown her – not that she would actually do that. The girl was sweet most of the time but she was also quite scary when she was angry.

"Rachel," Puck called as he backed away from Brittany, "you should run. You should definitely run."

* * *

Daylight brought with it Sue's booming voice as both Rachel and Puck groaned. After escaping from Brittany the previous night they had managed to find a spot on the foredeck where they could relax while still allowing Rachel to keep track of the ship's progress via the stars.

It had been a relatively peaceful night but sitting in the same position for hours on end had led to stiff muscles and aching joints. Sue's smirk did not help either, an indication that there would be little to no time within which they could warm up and loosen their muscles.

"Corcoran! Puckerman! I have a job for you."

The two pirates eyed their captain warily. Usually when Sue said things like that it never meant anything good for those involved.

"I need you to plot the fastest route you can to these co-ordinates." She slipped a piece of paper with the digits into Rachel's hand before continuing. "Come to my cabin with Brittany when you're done and I'll tell you more then. That is all."

They watched her walk away, stunned looks frozen on their faces. She had never assigned them something so easy in such a clipped manner. Rachel almost wondered if it was a trick her mind was playing on her in a last ditch effort to get to land but she dismissed the thought immediately. The ocean was where she belonged so it could not be an illusion. No, something big was about to happen.

Glancing across the water to where the sails of the other ship could now be seen on the horizon, she frowned. Could that ship possibly have anything to do with their captain's change in behaviour? She could not be sure but that same feeling from the previous day returned and she was willing to stake her life on that feeling alone that the two occurrences were connected.

"Rach." Puck waved a hand in front of her face to catch her attention. "Should we get started on that or do you want to grab some breakfast first?"

"Sue would skin us alive Noah," she replied. "Let's just get this over and done with before she can get impatient."

He nodded and followed her to the cabin that was assigned to her. As usual, it was dimly lit and smelt of old parchment. The shelves lining the walls were stuffed with various books, charts and maps until they were overflowing onto the floor.

Rachel did not even glance up from her notebook as she pulled out a few of the charts and maps and handed them to Puck. He unrolled them and set them down on the desk in the centre of the room, several books on the edges to keep them flat before retreating to the pristinely made bed in the far corner.

"I never get why you sleep down in the crew's quarters when you have this room, you know."

"There's nothing to understand Noah," she muttered, her eyes now glued to an immaculate globe on one corner of the desk. "I can't sleep in here so I sleep there. It's as simple as that."

The boy nodded but said nothing further. Rachel had always been very talkative but what most failed to note was that she rarely ever said anything of value about herself. It was like a sort of game she liked to play most of the time, just to measure the knowledge and intelligence of whoever she was talking to at the time. Of course, all pretence was dropped whenever she was working making it even harder to get a read on her. She and Brittany were similar that way.

Casting a glance at Puck but saying nothing about his silence, she returned to her globe. Her eyes widened when she found the co-ordinates she was looking for and she rushed to check it against what she had already found on two separate maps and four charts. What she was seeing it, it could not be right, but there it was.

What was Sue planning?

"Noah, plan the route. I need to get some wind readings."

"How long do you want the minimum time to be?"

"You're the Lieutenant Navigator. Surprise me."

With that she left Puck in her room and made her way to the aft deck to check their progress. Usually she would have been on the foredeck but she also needed to talk to her command who were stationed there. As Navigator she knew that a lot of her duties were not what she was supposed to do but Sue Sylvester always did have a different take on how things should be done.

Once that was finished, she made her way to the foredeck to get her readings. As she had predicted, they were in a dead zone. There was absolutely no movement in the air and the sun was beating down hard on those below. Cursing the weather, she threw off her jacket and contemplated diving in the sea below just to cool off.

"No you don't," Brittany said, yanking her away from behind. "If I have to stay here then you can't go play with the dolphins."

"Britt…"

"Nope. Besides, Pucky says we're supposed to go see Sue now."

"Let's go then."


End file.
